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(More customer reviews)"The Last Detective: The Complete Collection," comprising all 17 episodes of this superior British television mystery series, is now becoming available in the United States for the first time. The series, a subversive police procedural, was made by Granada for the United Kingdom's Independent Television (ITV). It made its debut on British broadcast television in February 2003, and has never been seen on broadcast TV here, which is our loss, as it is an excellent, character-driven production that offers a light-hearted blend of mystery and comedy similar to that of Poirot Investigates: Eleven Complete Mysteries;Blue Murder: Set 3; or Rosemary & Thyme - The Complete Series. The collection comes at a value-packed price, and offers as a bonus, the 1981 treatment, starring Bernard Cribbins, that tells the same story as this series' pilot.
It's based on the "Dangerous Davies" novels of Leslie Thomas. The veteran, highly thought of, everyman looking Peter Davison (Tristan in All Creatures Great & Small - The Complete Series 1 Collection), stars as the title character, Detective Constable Davies (and it's quite a disgrace for an older man to be only a constable!) He works in the totally unimportant, out of the way, North London precinct of Willesden. And he's only the last detective in that he's the last detective his boss would assign to any case, had he his choice in the matter. So Davies gets the least promising cases: yet, in his plodding fashion, he generally does get his man - or woman, as the case may be.
Emma Amos plays his sexy wife, Julie: in the complete collection you will see their relationship go through some changes, as she first throws him out, then takes him back. Sean Hughes, (the guy from Eejit Records in The Commitments (Two-Disc Collector's Edition), plays his freeloading, quirky chum, Mod: we see him go through quite a few career changes in the complete collection, too. Rob Spendlove plays Detective Inspector Aspinall, the station house's tough supervisor. Charles De'Ath as DS Pimlott and Billy Geraghty as DS Barrett add greatly to the flavor of the cop shop; and we get to see the three of them going through changes too. Various well-known actors, such as Sian Philips, Norman Wisdom,David Threlfall and Susan Woordridge, guest star in supporting, but still meaty, roles.
The series manages to be witty and entertaining, yet still intellectually satisfying, with a minimum of onscreen violence. Cinematography is fine, and it's firmly grounded in its North London location. For better or worse, its actors have been encouraged to use that locale's flavorful accent: some may have trouble with it. But it really is a pleasure getting to see all the episodes in sequence, and seeing the characters develop. British mystery lovers: this one's for you.
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Britain\'s bumbling and beloved detective
Detective Constable "Dangerous" Davies always gets the cases no one else wants--and no one notices when he eventually succeeds. But his old-fashioned decency and dogged determination have won him legions of loyal fans. Collected here are all 17 episodes from the hit British mystery series starring Peter Davison (Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small), who plays the beleaguered Davies "with a pitch-perfect mix of self-effacement and irritation at the endless slights from crooks and fellow cops alike" (The Baltimore Sun).
Mocked by colleagues at his small London police station and estranged from his wife, he actually listens to advice from his kooky chum Mod (Sean Hughes, The Commitments). Still, Dangerous manages to make connections that the slicker cops miss and shows that underdogs do have their day.
BONUS PROGRAM: Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective, the 1981 movie starring Bernard Cribbins that tells the same story as series pilot.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE: an interview with Peter Davison, Leslie Thomas bio and booklist, photo galleries, and cast filmographies.
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